Beauty School: Bald and beautiful, tips for hair loss

When chemotherapy causes hair loss, it’s easy for a woman to lose her sense of self. But with many wig and scarf options available, it can actually become a chance to experiment with different looks.

Hope Latimore, licensed cosmetologist and owner of Cover Me With Hope, a wig and post-mastectomy boutique in Derry Twp., tells her clients: “You can’t control cancer, but we can control your hair situation.”

Latimore got into the wig business when she was looking for a way to help a close friend who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I wanted to help and I didn’t know how I could help her,” Latimore said. “I always had done her hair and so I started making wigs using hair extensions.”

Before long and with encouragement from her mother, Latimore became a volunteer with the American Cancer Society and started helping women find just the right wig for their lifestyle. Opening her own salon seemed the likely next step. She also does fittings for post-mastectomy garments and is working on creating her own line of wigs.

The salon is an official ACS “wig bank.”

Here are her tips for getting the right look with a wig or a scarf.

Fitting a wig

Step 1

Choose a style. Look at color, texture and length. Don’t be afraid to get creative. “If you’ve ever wanted to try another style or color or cut, now is the time in your life you can go with it,” said Hope Latimore of Cover Me With Hope. Our model, Jody DeMarco of Landisburg, agreed: “I’m bald, but I’ve never looked better!”

Step 2

Cover your head with a nylon stocking cap. Position the wig on your head using the two tabs on each side. The tabs should be placed at your temples.

Step 3

Fit for comfort. Wigs come in three sizes — petite, average and large — and you’ll generally begin with average. Straps in the back of the wig can be adjusted for fit.

Step 4

Style as usual. If you’ve selected a synthetic wig, you can use hair products on it, but heat tools will melt the hair. “Even steam from an open oven or heat from a grill can singe a synthetic wig,” Latimore explained. If your wig is made of human hair, you can treat it just as you would your own. But, Latimore said, most women choose synthetic wigs during treatment.

Going for a scarf

DeMarco, who had long blonde hair before chemotherapy treatment for her stage 3 ovarian cancer began, sometimes opts for a head covering such as a scarf instead of a wig. Although there are many ways to tie a scarf, here’s a simple one:

Step 1

Gather the scarf low in the back near your neck.

Step 2

Twist the remaining scarf to the end and create a roll with the length of it.

Step 3

Wrap the roll around itself and tuck the end into the “bun.” If you like, wear a hat along with the scarf or, Latimore suggests a headband over the top for volume. “You can also tuck a shoulder pad under the scarf for more volume,” she said.